


The Adventuring Band of the Crystal Gems

by Swordtheguy



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Drama, Dwarves, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/F, F/M, Fae & Fairies, Family Drama, Family Feels, Gen, High Fantasy, High Fantasy AU, Knights - Freeform, Magic, Magic-Users, Swordfighting, Swords & Sorcery
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-10-05
Updated: 2016-11-16
Packaged: 2018-08-19 17:10:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 13,015
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8218456
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Swordtheguy/pseuds/Swordtheguy
Summary: Earth, a plane of existence filled with brave warriors and cunning wizards, not to mention evil creatures and dark forgotten histories. On this plane lives the young boy, Steven Universe, traveling the land and helping the downtrodden with his guardians, Pearl, Amethyst, and Garnet.Together, they are the Adventuring Band of the Crystal Gems!





	1. All Adventure start in a Tavern

“Four flagons of mead, please.”

Steven’s head barely peaked over the bar’s counter, so he stood on his tiptoes in order to be more visible.

Not that he needed to. Kiki had already taken note of Steven and was filling three mugs with mead and a fourth mug with a mixed berry drink. Steven caught a whiff of the sweet smelling drink and felt his mouth begin to water.

“Here, you go, Brave Adventure Steven,” Kiki said in a bold, commanding voice as she placed the mugs on a carrying plate.

Steven grinned as he reached for the plate. “Thanks, Kiki.”

Steven liked Kiki. She and her family were nice, certainly nicer than most of the people Steven and the Gems had met while taking jobs in the area. Since a warp pad was located in a cave just a little ways south of the town, they had spent a lot of their down time at the small inn recently and Steven, in turn, had spent a lot of time talking to patrons (who were mostly uninterested in him) and with Kiki and her sister Jenny, who despite being the main driving forces to keep the inn running smoothly, always managed to take a little bit of time to talk with Steven when he was around.

Steven took the plate in his hands, spilling a bit of the mugs contents on the floor.

“Do you need some help with that Steven?” Kiki asked.

“No, I got it,” Steven answered. But no sooner had he said that, then he stepped on a loose floorboard, causing him to misstep and begin to lose his balance. However, before both he and the drinks could clatter to the floor, Kiki stepped around the bar and caught Steven and his drinks.

“Careful,” she lightly chided. “This entire inn needs to be redone…”

Steven straightened himself and then checked on the drinks still in Kiki’s hand, ensuring that they were all still mostly full. “Thanks, Kiki,” he said. “I guess I could use some help…”

“It’s no problem, Steven,” Kiki responded, beginning to walk back to Steven’s table with the drinks. “Everyone needs a little help every now and then.” She looked over her shoulder, towards the open door leading to the kitchen. “Jenny, can you get the bar?”

“I’m kinda in the middle of something. Can't you do it?” came Jenny’s voice from the kitchen

Kiki sighed as she and Steven began to walk the drink over to the table where the Gems were sitting. “Though, I guess help can be a little hard to find sometimes,” she smirked at Steven, who smirked back.

The Gems were as Steven had left them. Amethyst was leaning back in her seat, using a small dagger to pick her teeth and tugging at her new leather jerkin. Pearl took up most of the table, inspecting her cuirass for any sign of wear. She scowled and mumbled something under her breath as she wriped away a smudge away from the golden star in the cuirass center. And Garnet… Well, Garnet just sat in her seat, arms folded across her chest and her eyes obscured by the cloth blindfold that was wrapped around her head.

“Here we go,” Kiki said, placing the glasses on the table, one in front of each of the Gems. “Some refreshments for the conquering adventures.”

“Thanks, Kiki” Steven said again as he returned to his seat, taking his glass of mixed berry juice with him.

“Yes, thank you,” Pearl said, sounding less thankful and more like the young innkeeper was a mild nuisance.

Kiki didn’t seem to mind, however. “Of, course. And if you need anything else, feel free to come up to the bar and tell me.” With a wave to Steven, she began walking back to the counter, carrying plate under her arm.

Pearl finished her inspection and sat the cuirass aside, before glancing at the drinks on the table and saying simply, “Steven, why did you get these? We don’t eat or drink.”

“Hey, speak for yourself,” Amethyst responded, emptying her glasses contents into her mouth and then grabbing Garnets glass and doing the same.

“That’s what you’re suppose to do after a successful quest!” Steven exclaimed, taking a hearty gulp of his drink. “You go to the inn and celebrate by drinking mead.”

“You really shouldn’t take advice from those dwarves we met,” Garnet replied easily.

“Yeah. Spending all that time underground can mess with your head.” Amethyst said, finishing off the last glass of mead.

“I guess… But he was part of a group of adventures. I thought we could learn from him.” He took another sip of his drink.

“We’re not adventures, Steven,” Pearl corrected.

“Yeah, we are.” Steven argued back. “We travel the land, going on quests and helping people. That’s what adventures do.”

“We don’t go on quests. We’re on a mission to bubble all the gem monsters that have been set loose on Earth,” Pearl said, her voice brimming with pride. “We just… take some jobs on the side to afford equipment.”

“And to get opportunities to loot,” Amethyst said, reaching into her pocket and pulling out bronze amulet. “More stuff for Peri to enchant when we get back to the barn.”

“Amethyst!” Pearl chided. “Only-”

“Yeah, yeah. Only take magical items.” Amethyst rolled her eyes as she stuffed the necklace back into her pocket. “‘Scuse me for thinking that maybe letting Peridot practice her enchanting would be a good idea.”

“She was an enchanter on the Homeplane,” Pearl said. “She’s spent her whole life practicing.”

Steven wasn’t listening to their argument. Instead, he took the last gulp of his drink and sat his mug back on the table. “I just thought it’d be cool if we were adventurers…” he said quietly to himself.

Silence held around the group for a few moments before Garnet asked easily, “Hey, Steven. Why don’t you play us a song?”

Steven instantly perked up at the suggestion. “Really? You think I should?”

Garnet smiled. “Of course. That’s how all the greatest adventures celebrate their victories.”

“Oh, Garnet…” Pearl sighed.

“I know just the song!” Steven said as he quickly grabbed his lute out of his leather bag that sat on the ground next to the table. “I’ve been working on it all week.”

He removed the instrument from his bag and rested it in his lap, positioning his hands and fingers just like his dad had shown him. He strummed a few chords, getting a feel for it, before he began singing:

 

_If you're evil, and you're on the rise,_

_You can count on the four of us taking you down,_

_'Cause we're good and evil never triumphs,_

_We'll win the day because we’ll always beat ya,_

Steven could begin to hear the Gems clapping along with his song. He continued singing:

_We are the Crystal Gems,_

_We'll always save the day,_

_And if you think we can't,_

_We'll always find a way,_

_That's why the people of this land believe in,_

_Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl, and Steven!_

 

Steven finished strong, literally standing in his chair as he hit the last note. The Gems all applauded, Amethyst even whistling her approval of Steven’s song. He even heard Kiki say to herself that she should hire them as full time entertainment. And while Steven did love that they enjoyed his song, he felt a twinge of disappointment that none of the other few patrons in the inn seemed to notice his song.

“That was great, Steven,” Garnet said, a broad smile plastered over her face.

“Yeah, man. That was awesome,” Amethyst said, letting loose another sharp whistle.

“It was really nice, Steven,” Pearl agreed genuinely. “Your practising has been showing results.”

Steven felt his face flush with their praise. “Aw, thanks guys.” He sat his lute on the table and looked at it contemplatively. After a few seconds of silence, he spoke softly, “Even if we’re not adventures, I’m still glad I get to travel with you and see all kinds of cool things all across Earth.” He looked up; all three of the gems were facing him. “You didn’t have to take me with you, but you still did…”

“Nonsense,” Garnet said firmly. “You’re a Crystal Gem. Just like the rest of us. We wouldn’t want to be on this path without you.”

Steven gasped with sudden realization. “That’s it!” he cried. “That’s our adventurer title. We’re the Adventuring Band of the Crystal Gems!”

“Steven, we’re not advent-”

Steven cut Pearl off with hardly a notice. “We should get signs written up so we can put them on job listing boards. That way, if someone has a quest for us, they can contact us!”

“We’re constantly traveling, dude. They’d never be able to-”

“I think that’s a great idea, Steven.”

This time it was Garnet who was interrupting. “The Band of the Crystal Gems. Almost all our jobs, side or otherwise, involve hunting monsters.” She smiled softly. “Rose would be proud that her title was being used as a banner for the protection of others.”

Pearl’s face flushed as she spoke. “Well… yes, when you put it that way… I suppose that would be fitting.”

“Yeah. Agreed,” Amethyst nodded.

“So… it’s decided?” Steven asked expectedly.

“It’s decided,” Garnet smiled.

“Yes! We’re adventurers! I’m gonna go tell Kiki!” Steven ran off to the bar where the innkeeper’s daughter was busily cleaning glasses.

However, Pearl simply turned towards Garnet and asked, “Are you sure this is a good idea? I mean…” She glanced over her shoulder at Steven, who was excitedly telling Kiki about the recent development. “I suppose there’s nothing wrong with indulging Steven on the ‘adventurer’ point. It’s just a word after all… But taking the name Crystal Gem? I thought we were trying to remain undetected.”

“Yeah, G,” Amethyst added. “Plastering Crystal Gem all over the place seems like a good way to get the Homeplane’s attention.”

“Perhaps,” Garnet conceded easily. “But… We’ve been running from that name for too long now. We’re all Crystal Gems. Steven included. And besides…” Garnet closed her hands, covering her gems with her fingers. “Rose wanted us to teach Steven about his heritage and to be proud of who he is. How can we do that when we skirt around what is such a fundamental part of Rose’s legacy?”

Pearl and Amethyst said nothing, only exchanging glances before looking in opposite directions.

“Hey, guys!” Steven said as he jogged back to the table. “Kiki said she had a lead on a quest for us!” He grabbed his lute off the table and stuffed it back into his bag, before pulling the cord to close it and putting its strap over his shoulder. “A servant of a local lord is looking for someone to hunt a wyvern. He’s in at a stagecoach on the edge of the village.”

“A wyvern? That’s unlikely Steven. Wyverns mostly appear at the World’s Edge,” Pearl said.

“It might be a gem monster,” Garnet suggested. “Wouldn’t be the first time they’ve been confused with wyverns, griffons, or manticores.”

“Ooh, if it is, then it’ll just be simple poof and bubble,” Amethyst said, smirking. “And if it’s a lord who’s offering the job, then he’ll probably pay well.” She took her dagger off the table and put it back in it’s sheath at her side. “Gotta get me a new tooth picking dagger.”

“So are we going to do it?” Steven asked.

There was a beat of silence before Pearl responded, “I don’t see why not. It’ll make a good first quest for the Band of the Crystal Gems.”

Steven’s eyes grew bright with excitement. “Yeah, it will! Come on!” He began to run towards the inn’s entrance.

The Gems rose from their seats, Pearl lightly tapping her her cuirass, causing it to disappear from the ground and to then reappear on her, along with the rest of her bright, shiny armor.

She took a step and then paused, looking down at the floorboards.

“For Rose,” she said softly to herself.

She felt a hand on her shoulder and saw Garnet next to her. “For Steven,” she added.

Pearl smiled easily. “For Steven.”

The three Gems joined Steven by the door and then they all exited together, the warmth of the sunrise shining on their faces.

The first day for the Adventuring Band of the Crystal Gems had begun.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A high fantasy au! Expect grand adventure, crowded taverns, and tripping over dwarves.  
> I'm planning on making this an ongoing series that'll be updated basically whenever I need a breather from whatever other project I'm working on.
> 
> Also, thanks to [CoreyWW](http://archiveofourown.org/users/CoreyWW) for taking a look at this and letting me bounce ideas off of him. You're the best, mate.
> 
> Thanks for reading and, as always, feedback is always welcomed.


	2. The Sword and the Scabbard: Part 1

“...‘Lisa and Archimicarus flew down the corridor, the cold evening wind whipping past their ears. But as they neared the end, to the hall, they saw the dark figure of-’”

Steven gasped as he covered his mouth in shock. “Oh no! Lisa! Archimicarus!”

Connie couldn’t help but chuckle a little as she leaned against the trunk of the tree the two sat under. “It’s alright, Steven. I told you that in real life, Lisa became the Archmagus of Lut-Orion.”

“I know. But didn’t you say that they changed some things for the books?” Steven asked.

“Yeah, but not major things like that. Well, except for the one section in ‘Underneath the Overwhere’… ”

Steven gasped again. “Spoilers…!”

Connie grinned. “Sorry, Steven.” She looked back down at the page they left off on. “Now then…”

However, before Connie could begin, she was cut off by a voice calling out to Steven, “Hey, Ste-man!”

Connie looked back up from the book and saw Amethyst, one of Steven’s guardians, jogging their way. Connie noticed that she was carrying Steven traveling bag.

“Hi, Amethyst!” Steven greeted as he looked up at the gem as she came up beside him.

“Hey, you two. Listen, can ya do me a favor, dude?” she asked.

“Sure, Amethyst. What do you need?” Steven said, brushing the bottom of his pants free of dirt and grass.

“Pearl wanted me to bring some supplies to her and Peridot at the barn. But…” she glanced away. “I kinda got something I need to do. Don’t tell anyone, but it involves a dwarven merchant I noticed in the village.”

“Oh, yeah. That’s Edric,” Connie said, standing up to join the two. “He comes to the village every now and then.”

“Yeah? So… Does that mean he’s not part of one of the clans?” Amethyst asked.

“Um… I don’t know. You mean like dwarven clans?”

“Yeah, I-” Amethyst cut herself off and shook her head. “Nevermind. If he’s not, he’ll probably know someone who is.” She held Steven’s bag out for him to get. “Point is, I need to talk to him.”

“It wouldn’t take that long to get to the barn, would it?” Steven said. “Just take a warp pad.”

“That’s the thing,” Amethyst said, rubbing the back of her head. “The warp pad network is down.”

“The warp pads are… down?” Steven asked, sounding confused. “What do you mean?”

“I mean, they don’t work. For anyone,” Amethyst explained. “That’s why Pearl’s at the barn with Peri. They’re trying to find what’s causing the problem and fix it.” Amethyst shrugged. “Peri thinks it’s just some magical interference coming from somewhere, but Pearl thinks it’s-... Er, well, whatever. Doesn’t matter,” Amethyst quickly said. “But yeah, that’s the problem. To deliver the stuff they need, you’ll have to walk. And if I go, I might miss my chance to talk to the dwarf merchant.” She looked back towards the village before looking back at both of them. “So will you help me out, dude?”

Without missing a beat, Steven cheerfully said, “Of course, Amethyst!” But then he seemed to be struck with a thought and turned back around. “I’m sorry, Connie,” he said with an apologetic look. “We were just starting to get to the really good part…”

Connie just grinned at her friend. “It’s okay, Steven. Adventure calls, right?”

Steven perked up a little, nodding his agreement. “Yeah. It does.” He looked back over at Amethyst and took his bag from her.

“Thanks, dude,” Amethyst said, sounding relieved. “I owe ya one. There are three packages in there, each one marked with Pearl and Peridot’s name.” Steven strapped the bag over his shoulder as Amethyst nodded to herself. “Yeah, alright,” she said. Thanks again, Steven.” She began walking away, back towards the village, giving a wave over her shoulder. “I’ll see you two later,” she said.

Steven waved as she left, Connie joining him.

“Bye, Amethyst! See you later!” he called.

Steven then turned back to Connie, that apologetic look back on his face. “Well… I guess you’ll be going back home, Connie.”

“Why?” Connie asked lightly, straightening her tunic. “My parents don’t expect me back until later.”

“Oh,” Steven responded. “Then… what are you going to do?”

Once again, Steven easily pulled a grin out of her. “Silly,” she said. “I’m going with you to the barn, of course.”

Steven looked at her, starry eyed, “Of course! I mean… Your parents won’t mind, will they?”

She paused for beat before answering, “No, they won’t mind.”

Steven nodded excitedly. “Yes! This is amazing! You and me on an adventure, Connie!”

“We’re adventure buds,” Connie said.

“Yeah! Adventure buds!” Steven adjusted his bag on back and held out his arm and putting on a faux serious look. He gestured down the road. “After you, Lady Connie,” he said in a stiff, formal tone of voice.

Connie answered with an overly-elaborate bow. “Of course, Sir Steven.”

With smiles exchanged, the pair took a step towards the dirt road before Steven stopped again. “Here, Connie,” he said, turning around. “So you don’t have to carry your book the whole way, why don’t you put it in my bag?”

“Are you sure, Steven?” Connie asked. “I don’t want _you_ to have to carry it the whole way.”

“It’s okay,” Steven assured. “The bag’s really light.”

Connie hesitated for another moment before she stepped towards Steven’s bag, carefully opened it and slid her book in. To her surprise, the bag didn’t look distended or even look like she had put her book in it at all. In fact, now that she began to think about it, the bag looked like it was completely empty.

“Did you put the book in?” Steven asked.

“Yeah,” Conne answered. However, before she could ask a follow up question, Steven began walking down the trail.

“Alright! Let’s go!” he called, pointing down the dirt road.

Connie quickly jogged to catch up with him, deciding to put the nature of the bag out of her mind and instead focus on enjoying travelling with Steven.

* * *

It was the third quarter of that cycle and a cool breeze flowed through the air. Connie shifted coolly as she and Steven made their way down the road. Now that they were no longer under the shining sun, but instead covered by the shadows of the tall oaks that lined the road, Connie found the chill more pressing. She should have listened to her mother and brought her cloak. She looked over at Steven who seemed unaffected by the breeze, though he was wearing a thick traveling jerkin over his doublet. But then, this was how he dressed most of the time. After all, he was always going on adventures.

Connie suddenly felt a little embarrassed by her simple tunic and leggings.

“So Connie,” Steven said. “How many books did you say were in the Spirit Morph Saga?”

“There’s four,” Connie said, trying her best to look unaffected by the breeze. “‘Unfamiliar Familiar’, ‘Welcome to the Wizard Wilds’, ‘Underneath the Overwhere’ and-” Connie was cut off by a sudden wind that blew past them, chilling her nose and cheeks. She wrapped herself tightly with her arms in an attempt to stave off the chill.

“Oh, Connie!” Steven cried. “I'm sorry, I should have offered you this earlier.” He reached easily into the bag on his back and, without even looking, pulled a dark green cloak from out of the bag and handed it to her.

“Steven,” Connie said, feeling both grateful and a little embarrassed by Steven’s gesture. “Thanks, I… should have brought my own.” She wrapped the cloak around her shoulders and almost instantly felt warmer.

“It's okay, Connie,” Steven said. “Garnet had Peridot enchant that cloak for me. It will always keep you perfectly warm, no matter how cold it gets.”

Connie could certainly believe it. Just a few seconds after she put the cloak on she felt her whole body begin warm up, as if she were back under the beaming sun on the hill outside the village.

“Wow. That’s really neat,” Connie said. “It must be really cool to have someone like Peridot around.”

“What do you mean?” Steven asked.

“I mean, someone who’s an enchanter,” Connie replied.

“What’s so special about that? Aren’t there aren’t a lot of enchanters?”

“No, of course not. Enchanting is a very precise and intricate form of magic. People can spend the better parts of their lives just learning the basics,” Connie explained.

“Oh. Well, I guess it’s a good thing the Gems don’t age,” Steven said.

“Yeah, I guess that’s why Peridot’s so talented,” Connie mused. “Do you know how old Peridot is?”

“Umm…” Steven wondered. “I’m not really sure. I think I heard Pearl once say that Peridot was made after the Gem Incursion.”

Connie nodded. “And that was… a long time ago.”

“I think Pearl once said it was over ten thousand cycles ago,” Steven said.

Connie was silent in response.

Ten thousand cycles… It never failed to impress Connie how truly ancient the Gems were.

Ten thousand cycles was before The Republic was formed.

Before the dwarves were driven to the World’s end.

Before the the Faeries Court had closed all its portals.

Before… humanity was even a thing.

Before all that, the Gems were already fighting for their lives.

“Peridot was an enchanter before she came to Earth, so she’s probably been doing this her whole life,” Steven continued.

Connie blinked as she brought herself back to the conversation. “And if she’s even a quarter of the age of Pearl, Garnet, and Amethyst, then that would still give her more experience than probably any enchanter in Earth.”

“Yeah, Peridot’s always saying how all the magical items we find on our adventures are all pretty terrible compared to what she could make.”

Connie felt a little ruffled by Peridots comment. “Well, I mean if you give a human the lifespan of a Gem, then we’d make amazing things too…”

“What do you mean?” Steven asked. “Humans already make great things!”

Connie looked over at him, feeling more than a little… surprised by what he said. “You… I mean, what we make must be really unimpressive compared to some of the Gem ruins and stuff you’ve seen.”

Steven, however, shook his head. “Nu-uh. Like, just a few days ago, the Gems and I went to a town near the Borders and there was this huge castle that stood over it.” Steven stretched his arms over his head to emphasize how tall the castle was. “I wanted to go and get a better look, but the Gems wouldn't let me.”

Connie pursed her lips. “Yeah, but that's just a castle. The Gems have all kind of magical items and trinkets.” She drummed her finger on her chin. “Like those rings Garnet has that let's her cast waves of fire and ice? That level of magic is just… incredible.”

“Okay, but what about the Spirit Morph Saga? Lisa Widicker herself wrote it, right?” Steven asked.

“Yeah…”

“Well… even though we're still on the first book, I think it's really magical.” Steven said.

“You like it that much?” Connie asked.

“Yeah. Don't you?”

Connie nodded. “It’s one of my favorites. But… you really think it compares to all the magical things you've seen?”

“Sure. When we're reading together, it's super magical.”

Connie felt her face warm. She was unsure if it was because of the cloak or because her face was flush.

“Ah… Steven,” Connie said. “Yeah, it's really magical reading with you too.”

Steven didn’t say anything in response, he only glanced over at her, a small smile on his face.

* * *

 

They continued to walk in comfortable silence for a while, the wind whistling through the tree leaves above them. Connie felt like she could walk like this with Steven forever.

So of course, it wasn't to last.

A figure darted out in front of them. It was a kid, maybe around Steven and Connie’s. It was dressed simply, though Connie noticed he was wearing an apron that was matted with flour and dried sauces.

The kid looked around himself, running his hand through his thick, curly hair. His eyes were wide with fear as he scanned the area around him, before finally landing on Steven and Connie.

He quickly rushed over to them, tripping over himself and hitting the ground hard.

Without missing a beat, Steven and Connie rushed over to him in order to see if he was alright. Connie tried to help him back to his feet, but he brushed her off, saying simply, “No, it’s alright.” He slowly rose to his feet, dusting himself off as he did. He looked at his shoes for a moment before fixing the two of them with an intense look. Connie felt like she instinctively wanted to take a step back.

“Are you okay?” Connie asked.

“Yeah, I’m fine. Listen, do you two know how far away the next town with a job posting board is?” the boy asked.

Steven and Connie exchanged glances as Steven slowly answered, “About a mile and a half back there.” He pointed behind them.

The boy sighed in obvious frustration. “Crap. Where are adventurers when you need them?”

Steven gasped with excitement. “You need adventurers? We’re adventurers!”

The boy looked them up and down, a skeptical look on his face. “You are? Is this your first day?”

Steven shook his head. “No, I’ve been traveling with the Gems my whole life.”

The boy shrugged. “The who?”

“The Adventuring Band of the Crystal Gems!” Steven exclaimed. “You haven’t heard of us?”

“Nope,” the boy said. “Maybe the tales of your exploits haven’t reached this far south.” The boy rubbed his chin as he muttered to himself. “Still… You are adventurers, right?”

Steven nodded. “Yep, we are. In fact, we’re on a quest right now.”

“Then…” the boy sighed. “I don’t suppose I could hire you for a side job, could I? My… my older brother is trapped in a cave nearby. A monster has made its lair there and my brother can’t get out now.”

“A monster?” Connie asked. “What kind of monster?”

“I don’t know. I didn’t really get a good look. I just heard its roar and darted out of the cave. I…” The boy glanced over his shoulder in the direction from where Connie and Steven had seen him run from. “I thought my brother was right behind me.”

“I see…” Steven said. “Maybe if I got the Gems…”

“But there’s no time for that!” the boy asserted. “I… look, I’m not asking you to slay the monster. I just want to get my brother out of the cave.” He glanced over his shoulder again. “My family doesn’t have a lot of money, but we do own a food stall. If you rescue my brother, I’m sure my father would let you and your Crystal Gems eat for free for the rest of your life.”

Connie looked over at Steven, but it seemed he had already made up his mind.

“Okay, we’re rescue your brother, um…”

The boy sighed, a relieved smile spreading across his face. “Peedee. My name is Peedee. And, thank you. I-... My whole family appreciates this.”

* * *

 

Peedee led them through the dense cluster of trees, letting up only to glance over his shoulder and ensure that both Connie and Steven were still right behind him. Connie ducked under a tree limb as she tried to will her legs to move faster in order to catch up with Steven, who was having no trouble matching Peedee’s adrenaline fueled pace.

Connie wheezed as she pushed out the last bit of stamina she had in order to keep up. At this rate, by the time they reach where Peedee’s brother was, she wouldn’t have the strength to keep up with Steven.

“He’s in this cave up here,” Peedee called from in front. Connie looked up and could see cave’s entrance begin to come into view. It was small, hidden from plain sight by the many trees and bushes that surrounded it. Steven and Peedee reached the cave first, both turning to see Connie jogging up to join them.

She tried to act nonchalant, as if she had managed to complete the run as easily as Steven had, but she knew that her red face and heavy breathing were dead giveaways otherwise.

“Geez, are you alright?” Peedee asked Connie, an eyebrow arched.

“Yeah… I’m fine…” Connie breathed heavily.

“Are you sure Connie?” Steven asked genuinely. He sounded as as if they had walked all the way.

“Just… a little out of breath…” Connie replied.

“Hm. This is your first job as an adventurer, isn't it?” Peedee asked. Connie could tell by the way he spoke that he already knew the answer.

“Well… It is for, Connie,” Steven answered for her. “But I know she'll do great at this.” He flashed her a bright smile. “She can do anything. Just like Lisa Widicker.”

Connie felt her already flushed face begin to grow even warmer with embarrassment. One one hand, she appreciated Steven’s confidence in her abilities but on the other, she kind of wished that he hadn’t admitted that this was her first adventure.

However, despite Steven’s reassurances, Peedee still looked skeptical. “Look, I don’t want anyone to get hurt. If this is out of your league…”

“We can handle it,” Connie said firmly. She had to show that was worth the confidence that Steven was placing with her.

Peedee paused for a beat, before shrugging his shoulders and saying simply, “Alright. If you’re sure.” He took a few steps into the mouth of the cave and motioned for the two of them to follow. They did so and, as they drew closer to him, Connie could Peedee mutter to himself, “It’s not my neck, after all…”

* * *

 

As they ventured deeper into the cave, the light around them grew dimmer and dimmer. Connie began to move more carefully, so as to avoid running into or tripping over anything that might be in her path. She wanted to ask Steven if he had a torch or some other source of light, but she wondered if maybe using a light source wasn’t what a proper adventurer would do. Still, she knew for sure that a proper adventurer wouldn’t trip over uneven ground either.

Luckily, Peedee spoke up before Connie felt she had too.

“Hey, do either of you have some kind of light? I don’t want anything sneaking up on us,” he whispered, just loud enough for both of them to hear.

“Oh! Yeah, I have something,” Steven confirmed, though not getting Peedee’s hint to whisper.

Connie expected Steven to reach into his bag again, but instead he began to undo the buckles of his jerkin.

“Uh… What’s he doing?” Peedee asked somewhat uncomfortably.

“It’s an adventurer thing,” Connie responded easily, though in truth she had no idea what Steven was doing either.

With his jerkin undone, Steven began to to unbutton the bottom few buttons of his doublet, revealing to them the pink gem where his navel should be.

“Is… that some kind of piercing?” Peedee asked, eyeing Steven’s gem.

“No, it’s my gem,” Steven answered.

“Your gem? So… when you said ‘Crystal Gems’, you meant literally,” Peedee said.

“Yep,” Steven responded simply. “I think Pearl showed me a way to- Yes! Like that!” The group suddenly found themselves engulfed in a pale pink light, emanating from Steven’s gem. The light easily cut through the darkness around them, revealing the true form of the cave..

“Wow… That’s pretty impressive,” Peedee marveled. “Can it do anything else?”

Steven shrugged. “Probably.”

Now that she could see, Connie began to look around and take in her surroundings proper. Her fear of tripping, it seems were unfounded. The path was perfectly clear, both behind and before them. In fact, it didn’t look like it dipped or raised at all. Connie ran her hand over a section of the stone wall and felt that it too was like the floor. Completely flat without a single imperfection.

“Hey, guys,” Connie said, still running her palm over the smooth stonework. “This cave… I don’t think it was naturally formed. The walls and floor are too smooth. Like they were carved out.”

“Not surprising,” Peedee brushed off. “This is probably an Ancient’s ruin. Monsters always make their nests in them.”

“That’s my point,” Connie said. “If this is an Ancient’s ruin, what if the creature that trapped your brother isn’t just some random monster, but is the ruins guardian.”

“Guardian…” Steven trailed off.

“What would it be guarding? All the dust and cobwebs?” Peedee asked sarcastically.

“I don’t know. Connie might have a point,” Steven interjected. “Traveling with the Gems, we’ve often explored ruins that still contained creatures. But, not like kobolds or anything.” Steven slowly shook his head. “These were… much stranger creatures. The Gems said they were from another plane.”

“Another plane? What do mean?” Peedee asked.

Steven and Connie exchanged looks before Steven said simply, “That’s… kinda complicated.”

Peedee sighed heavily. “It always is with adventurers.” He turned back, facing deeper into the cave. “Let’s keep going. You get in front, Steven.”

Steven did so, getting in front of Peedee so that the light from his gem shot down the darkened cave. “Alright, guys,” he said. “Let's go.” He began to move forward, Peedee and Connie following after him.

As they walked, Connie kept scanning the walls and floors around them, trying to find some hint to what laid ahead of them. But her earlier assessment had been correct, it seemed. At least, until she saw something in the distance. It looked like it was more light, though not pale pink like Steven’s. This looked more blue.

“I’m not the only one seeing that in the distance, right?” Peedee asked.

“No, you’re not,” Connie answered. “Was that light around when you and your brother were here earlier?”

“I don’t think so,” Peedee responded simply.

Steven took another step forward before looking over his shoulder at the two of them. “We need to approach carefully. Both of you stay behind me.” The light from Steven’s gem extinguished itself, but before Connie’s eyes could even begin to readjust to the dark, a new, though much fainter light appeared.

Connie saw that Steven had summoned his pink, spiral shield to his arm and had raised it in front of himself.

“Woah. You can just summon weapons like that?” Peedee asked.

“Yep. Me and the Gems can.”

“Well… I think I underestimated you then. That’s pretty impressive,” Peedee said simply.

Connie smiled to herself. Now Peedee was beginning to get the full picture.

“Okay,” Steven began. “Stay close to me. If things start to get out of hand, I can bubble all three of us.”

“Bubble?”

“Just another one of Steven’s powers,” Connie answered lightly. “It’ll protect us.”

Peedee said nothing, only focusing his gaze ahead, past Steven and onto the blue light in the distance.

“Ready?” Steven asked.

Peedee nodded silently.

“Yeah, we’re ready, Steven,” Connie answered.

“Alright, let’s go.”

They began to carefully, slowly move forward, Connie keeping both her eyes and ears open to any disturbance. However, with the exception of their soft footsteps echoing around them, they seemed to be alone.

_Is that our footsteps? It… kind of sounds like snoring…_

As they approached the glowing light, Connie could begin to see that the long hall they had followed down was leading to an open room. And judging by the way the blue glow flickered around the entrance way, it had to be somewhat on the large side.

Connie expected them to pause when they got to the entrance of the room, but Steven kept moving forward, his shield still up and his face still masked with a determined look. As soon as they were past the threshold, Connie began quickly glancing around the chamber. As expected, it’s ceiling reaching surprising high up for a cave. It was also empty mostly, save for a strange… thing in the corner that was giving off the blue glow and… a creature of some sort curled up and lying on the ground. Just behind it, Connie could see a person crouched on the ground, his eyes wide with fear, looking at them as they entered.

“Ronaldo!” Peedee hissed.

This was obviously his brother. They looked alike, even having nearly identical hair, blond and thickly curled. However, Ronaldo looked as many as five cycles older than Peedee. Connie pursed her lips in silent thought. She always thought it was the older sibling that came to the rescue of the younger.

“Is that a manticore?” Steven asked.

Connie focused her attention to the beast. She had never seen a manticore in real life, but with all the illustrations of ones that she had seen, she was fairly confident in saying that it wasn’t a manticore.

For one thing, she had never heard of a pink manticore.

“It… looks more like a giant lion,” Connie whispered into his ear. Now that she was getting a better look, the mane was unmistakable. And once the beast shifted in it’s sleep, it’s very feline face was undeniable. This was a giant, pink lion.

“Okay, what now, adventurers?” Peedee asked.

“Is your brother of a…” Connie’s eyes shot to Ronaldo, who still looked terrified, “of a nervous disposition?”

“Uh… Yeah, kind of?” Peedee responded. “He can… panic sometimes.”

“Alright… Here’s what I think we should do,” Connie began. “Peedee, you stay here out of harm’s way.”

“What?! Why?”

“Because you’re not an adventurer,” Connie said with only the barest hint of a smile on her lips. “Steven will cover me with his shield while I go grab your brother and then all four of us leave together.”

Peedee was quiet before nodding at her slowly. “Yeah, alright. That could work.” He turned towards Steven. “You have anything to add?”

Steven shook his head. “Nope. Connie’s plan sounds good to me.”

“Are you ready, Steven?” Connie asked. Steven nodded; Connie nodding back at him. “Alright. Let’s go.”

The pair began to slowly edge towards the lion. Steven kept his shield raised between them and the lion as they continued. They gave the lion as wide a berth as possible, but the room narrowed as they moved forward, forcing them to move closer and closer to the creature. Luckily, not close enough to ever be in danger of touching the beast.

But even still, Connie felt sweat on her brow as they closed in.

After careful inching, Connie was almost within whispering distance of Ronaldo. Connie shot a look at Steven, who nodded silently and placed himself between the lion and Connie.

“Ronaldo,” Connie whispered, trying to keep her voice low. However, Ronaldo was curled into a ball, his face and ears covered. “Ronaldo,” she whispered again, louder this time. But still he didn’t stir.

Connie looked over at Steven, who was still facing the lion with shield raised up. The beast didn’t stir, but Connie still didn’t want to waste more time then they had to.

She carefully reached over and tapped Ronaldo on the shoulder. Ronaldo jumped as if he had been attacked and let out a panicked yelp. Connie pressed her fingers to her lips and looked at him straight into his eyes.

“Ronaldo,” she whispered, calmly, but firmly. “I’m Connie and this is Steven. We’re here with Peedee to get you out of here.”

“R-right,” Ronaldo said. He was obviously still shaken up by everything that had happened. “I saw you and Peedee by the entrance.”

Connie nodded. “And he’s still there. Come on.” She offered him her hand, which he took, helping him to his feet. “Just follow behind us carefully and we’ll all be fine.” She looked over at Steven, who pointed them to move back towards the entrance. He’d cover them as they did.

Connie nodded her understanding and beckoned Ronaldo to follow her. She moved carefully, just as she did on their approach. Her eyes moved towards the lion, but besides shifting slightly where it laid, it hadn’t made any movement.

As the two of them passed by Steven, who still had his shield pointed at the beast, Connie saw the lion's tail flutter in front of their path. She stepped carefully over it and turned to look over her shoulder so as to warn Ronaldo of the same… only to suddenly hear the lion roar in protest and jump to its feet as Ronaldo stepped on its tail.

“Go!” Steven shouted as lept between the now fully awake lion and Connie and Ronaldo. Connie let her instincts take over, as she grabbed Ronaldo by the hand and rushed him over to the entrance where Peedee was still waiting.

“Peedee!” Ronaldo cried as they approached.

“No time. Let’s get out of here!” he shouted as he began running down the blackened tunnel, Ronaldo following after him.

Connie, however, didn’t follow after them. She turned on her heel, her mind racing to try and figure out what she could do to help Steven fight off the lion. But she wasn’t greeted with the sight of Steven trying to hold back the beast. Instead, Steven stood where he had been, the lion simply sitting on its back legs with its silent gaze focused down at the figure at its paws.

“Steven?” Connie called to him cautiously.

“It’s alright, Connie,” Steven said slowly as he lowered and then dispelled his shield. “He’s not dangerous.”

“How do you know?”

“I… don’t know,” Steven answered. “I just know that he won’t harm us.”

Connie began to walk slowly over to Steven, her eyes never leaving the lion. If it made any sudden movements, she would see it.

But it didn’t. Instead, it just sat there, its eyes never leaving Steven.

Before Connie could reach him though, the lion began to push against Steven’s shoulder with its nose, like a cat eager for attention would.

“What’s it doing?” Connie asked with a slight edge to her voice.

“I think…” Steven began when the lion rose from its seat and began to walk to the other side of the room, tossing Steven a look as it did. “I think he wants me to follow him,” Steven said as he followed and Connie did the same.

The lion walked the length of the room and came to rest again, this time next to the glowing blue thing that gave the room its slight illumination. The lion pressed against Steven again, pushing him closer to the strange object.

Once she was closer, Connie got a bet look at the strange thing. It was rectangular and looked like it had been carved out of the rock that made the wall, except it wasn’t stone. It was metal and it also had a glass front from the light came from. Projected onto the glass were several odd looking characters and runes, none of which meant anything to Connie.

“What is it?” Connie asked.

“I dunno,” Steven replied simply.

“Do those symbols mean anything to you?”

Steven paused as he looked over all of them. “Maybe. I think I’ve seen this one at the temple before.” He pointed at one of the symbols in the upper corner and as he did, the lion pressed against him once more.

“Why does it keep doing that?” Connie asked.

“I… I think he wants me to press the symbol,” Steven said. “The one I recognize.”

“Are you going to?”

Steven paused for a moment before answering. “Yeah,” he said finally. “Lion isn’t going to hurt us.”

He extended his reach just a little further and pressed his finger against the symbol. There was a soft beeping sound in response and then the sound of stone grinding against stone.

Both of them looked over to the ground next to the glowing object. A section of the stone floor had receded into itself and steadily rising from the hole that had been created was a simple pedestal. And on that pedestal stood a sword, sheathed in a scabbard.

The sword was big. Connie could tell just by looking that it was probably as big as she was. It was also pink. Very pink, much like the lion. Steven approached the pedestal and sword, laying his hand on the single, ornate decoration that marked the scabbard.

A single rose, in full bloom.

Steven lifted the sword and scabbard off the pedestal easily enough and brought it back over to where Connie stood. He gripped the hilt of the sword and gently revealed part of the gleaming blade to the two of them. At the base of the hilt was another depiction of a blooming rose.

Connie heard herself gasp as she fully took in the sight. The sword looked like a weapon a captain in the Republic's army would carry at their side, so perfect and pristine the blade looked.

“Woah,” Steven said softly. “We need to show this to Pearl…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is ending up being a lot funner then I thought it was going to be. It helps that High Fantasy tends to be my jam, but Steven Universe actually fits within that mold rather well, all things told.  
> Anyway, next chapter (whenever that will be). Expect Peridot, Pearl, and angst.
> 
> Thank you for reading and, as always, feedback is always welcomed.


	3. The Sword and the Scabbard: Part 2

“Are you almost finished?” Pearl asked, her patience, or lack thereof clearly evident.

Peridot twisted her mouth into a frown as she continued her scribblings on the table. “I’m sorry if I actually take pride in my work,” she said as she rose from her bent position. “This would be infinitely easier if I had a basic diagnostics computer…”

Pearl glanced over Peridot’s shoulder and saw that she was almost done. Only a few more runes needed to be inscribed before the spell was ready to be used.

“And this will work, right?” Pearl asked.

“Of course it will. Has my spellcrafting ever led you astray?”

Pearl paused a moment before answering, “Do you really want me to answer that?”

“Hmph,” Peridot huffed. “Then allow me to show the fruits of my brilliance.” She grabbed the sheet of parchment she had been writing on and began to quickly jog away from the barn and towards the warp pad in the distance. Despite her longer legs, Pearl found herself having to speed up in order to keep pace with Peridot.

“What’s the casting key?” Pearl asked as she began to get up next to Peridot.

“Fey,” she answered. “Its runic symbol is inscribed on the off line.” They arrived at the warp pad, it was still standing there as if nothing was amiss. Peridot approached the pad and examined it for a moment, before turning around and asking, “You’ll be doing the casting, right?”

“I will,” Pearl answered.

Peridot handed her the parchment. Pearl’s eyes began to go over it, quickly committing the runes to memory.

“Physical contact will be needed to transfer the spell’s effects,” Peridot said.

“And, if this works, will we have to do this with every warp pad?” Pearl asked.

Peridot shook her head. “No. This will work just like the diagnostic computer’s program would. It’ll upload itself to the Warp Pad Network and then distribute itself accordingly.”

Pearl nodded silently as she approached the pad and crouched down to her knees, laying a single hand onto it. She brought the freshly memorized runes to mind and started to run them through her head in an endless loop. She leaned in closer to pad and said, just above a whisper:

“Fey dy’ra ley-sol.”

A soft, pale light emitted from underneath Pearl’s hand before disappearing within a matter of seconds. She waited a moment before rising back to her feet. “How much time does it need before we can test it?”

“It should already be done,” Peridot answered simply.

Pearl stepped up onto the warp, but as soon as she tried to activate it, she still felt the same trickle of energy surround her, as opposed to the strong current there should be.

“Nothing,” Pearl sighed.

Peridot grimaced at the ground. “What went wrong… Hand me my parchment.”

Pearl did so, however saying, “I’m sure your spellcrafting was impeccable, Peridot. It’s like I told you when this started. This isn’t just a glitch in the Warp Network.” She began to walk back towards the barn, Peridot trailing behind her.

“So what are you suggesting? That someone is intentionally disrupting the Warp Network?” Peridot asked sarcastically. “warp pads are some of the most advanced examples of Homeplane’s technology. Who on this plane could possibly hope to interfere with them at all?”

Peridot placed her inscribed parchment back on the table that stood next to the barn’s entrance. As she continued to pore over it, Pearl began to mull over what Peridot had said. The obvious point had completely went over her diminutive assistant's head. It's true, whether through high technology or high magic, it was doubtful that anyone on Earth had the means to disrupt the Warp Network. So the logical conclusion was that some force outside of Earth was doing this…

“My spell looks perfectly crafted,” Peridot muttered. She looked over at Pearl. “Are you _sure_ you don't have a diagnostic computer?”

“I'm certain. But…” she looked down the dirt path that twisted away from the barn. “If Amethyst would hurry and get here, she should have some supplies.”

“Supplies for what?”

“A simple scrying ritual,” Pearl responded simply. “If done correctly, it should allow us to pinpoint where the interference is coming from.”

“Hmm… Yes, that could work,” Peridot said as she rubbed her chin. “Why did you not mention this earlier?”

“I did,” Pearl replied dryly. “You just weren’t paying attention.”

“Hmph… I don’t remember that…” Peridot mumbled out the corner of her mouth. “How powerful is this scrying ritual? Can it break through wards?”

“If whatever is causing the interference set up wards, then we have a much more pressing issues,” Pearl said pointedly.

However, Peridot still didn’t seem to quite grasp what she was getting at. “How would that tell you anything? The point of a ward is-”

Peridot never got to finish her explanation about wards. Pearl saw only the barest twinkle of something out of the corner of her eye before something very large and very pink landed on top of Peridot. In the next second, Pearl quickly deduced that it was some kind of creature and in the next, saw to her horror that Steven and his friend Connie were perched on top of the creature.

In one swift movement Pearl passed her hand over her gem, summoning her spear to her hand and then immediately readying her stance to strike the beast. She’d have to move quickly, partly because she wasn’t wearing her armor and was thus vulnerable, but mostly to try and secure Steven and Connie as quickly as possible.

She saw Peridot hastily clamber out from underneath the beast and then scamper behind Pearl, clutching her leg for protection. Pearl eyed the creature intently thinking of the best place to strike first.

_It’s legs, perhaps. They look powerful enough, but if I can wound at least one, maybe I can make a move to rescue Steven and Connie._

As if thinking their names had caught their attention, Pearl heard Steven call out to her, “No! Wait, Pearl! Lion won’t hurt anyone!” To her surprise, she saw Steven and Connie casually sliding off the giant, pink lion’s back and jog over to her.

“What? Steven, what is-” Pearl stopped herself, pausing a moment to gather a coherent sentence. “What’s happened, Steven?” she asked, keeping her spear held firmly in her hand and her eyes flicking between the lion and Steven. “Where’d this… lion come from?”

So Steven quickly explained what had happened with Peedee, his brother, and the cave; Connie interjecting whenever Steven missed a detail. The lion made no movement while they spoke, only sitting on its hind legs and silently gazing at the group.

“...But he woke up as Peedee and Ronaldo ran out of the cave. He didn’t try and attack me, though. He… led me over to some strange… thing on the wall,” Steven said.

“What sort of strange thing?” Pearl asked.

“It was a metal box,” Connie said, outlining a box with her hands. “And there was a sheet of lighted glass on its front that had several strange runes on it.”

Pearl stole a glance at Peridot, who had moved from her defensive position from behind Pearl, to at her side. As Connie described the device they had found in the cave, Peridot eyes grew to resemble to large dinner saucers. She must have come to the same conclusion that Pearl had. What the two of them had stumbled across was an computer terminal, not doubt a remnant of Rose’s Rebellion.

“And what did you do with this device?” Pearl asked.

“Well… Lion wanted me to do something with it,” Steven said. “But I didn’t recognize any of the runes on it, except one.”

“And which rune was it?” Peridot asked pointedly. “What did it mean?”

“I don’t know,” Steven answered. “I just remember seeing it at the temple before.”

“Where did you see it, Steven?” Pearl asked.

“In… In Mom’s room. When I was trapped in there… After I got the door to come back, I saw it inscribed onto the door.”

Pearl pursed her lips as she racked her memory trying to remember if any runes had been put on the door to Rose’s room. She couldn’t think of any specifically. But then, Pearl hadn’t been in Rose’s room since… Steven was born.

“Did you touch the rune?” Pearl asked, putting her thoughts aside for now.

Steven hesitated for a moment, glancing at Connie before answering. “Y-yeah. I did.”

“Steven…” Pearl sighed. “What have we told you about disturbing magic you don’t understand?”

“I know!” Steven responded hastily. “But… Lion really wanted me to touch it.”

Pearl looked over at the lion, who now laid on his stomach, his eyes half glazed over as if he were about to fall asleep.

“What happened after you activated the terminal?” Peridot asked, a tone of curious excitement echoing in her voice.

“We found this,” Steven answered simply as he took his Bag of Holding off of his back. He reached into the bag and… pulled out a part of the past that Pearl had thought she’d never see again.

It was a sword… _Her_ sword…

As if put in a trance, Pearl approached Steven and slowly, carefully lifting the sword out of his hands. It felt just as she remembered. It had heft, but it was perfectly balanced, even the scabbard being only as heavy as it needed to be. As Pearl turned the sheathed weapon in her hand, she could feel the telltale hum of the sword’s magic in her hands.

“That sword…” Peridot said, looking at the weapon intently. “It’s Gem made. What’s it doing here?”

Pearl laughed lightly. “This isn’t _just_ a sword,” she said with a growing smile. “This was Rose’s sword.” Pearl’s tone was one of reverence, as if she were a knight who had just found a long lost holy artifact.

Though, in some way, that is what had just happened.

“This… This was Mom’s sword?” Steven asked, wide eyed.

Pearl nodded. “Crafted by one of the rebellions most talented smiths and enchanted by Rose herself, this sword served her all the way through the war.”

“Wow…” Connie gasped. “So this sword is thousands of cycles old?”

“Oh, yes,” Pearl sighed knowingly. “Ahh… I remember Rose drawing her blade… Entire armies would part at the sight of her…”

“Hmm… You said it was enchanted?” Peridot asked as leaned in closer to the sword.

“I did,” Pearl answered simply. “Its edge will never dull, nor will it ever be repelled by sword or shield. No protection, magical or otherwise, will be able to keep the blade from its target.”

“Woah…” Steven and Connie both cooed in unison.

Peridot however, seemed less impressed. “So… basically it acts like it was forged from adamantine.”

Pearl shot her a scornful look.  “Perhaps, but considering the sword was forged many cycles before the dwarves struck their first vein of adamantine, the level of enchantment is still nothing short of exceptional.”

“Hmpf,” Peridot huffed. “Please, there have been so many advances in how Homeplane crafts and views enchantments, that I bet I could create a better set for it.”

“Do you now?” Pearl rolled her eyes.

“I do. Hand me the sword. Its runes are visible, yes?”

Pearl, with only a moment of hesitation, handed to sword over to Peridot. “They can be made visible, but…” An almost playful smirk grew on her face. “You may have a hard time examining it.”

Peridot peered harshly down at the sword, her fingers wrapped tightly around the hilt. “And why’s that?”

“Because of the last enchantment on the sword,” Pearl answered smugly. “There’s an enhancement of worthiness on it.”

“An enchantment of worthiness?” Steven asked.

“Oh yes,” Pearl said, turning back towards the pair. “Only someone worthy of Rose’s ideals, the ideals that the Crystal Gems were founded on, could ever hope to draw the sword from its scabbard.”

“And what ideals are those?” Connie asked, her eyes alight with excitement. “To protect Earth from evil?”

“Something like that,” Pearl answered. She put her hand to her mouth and dramatically cleared her throat. She began to recite from memory:

“Fight for life on the Plane of Earth,

Defend all mortals, even the ones the you don’t understand,

Believe in love that is out of anyone’s control,

And then risk everything for it!”

As Pearl finished, Connie mouth hung slightly agape for a moment before she said, almost too quietly to hear, “Wow… Being a Crystal Gem must be so cool…”

Before Pearl could respond, she heard Peridot say, “Hmm… Are sure about the enchantments?”

“Yes, as I just-” she stopped as she turned, shocked and… a little upset at what she saw. Peridot was standing further back now, partially hidden behind Pearl. At her feet was Rose’s scabbard, discarded to the ground. The sword meanwhile, was held aloft in Peridot’s hand, as if it were just a normal, mundane weapon.

Steven gasped at what he saw. “Peridot! You-... You’re worthy!” He looked at Pearl. “That’s what that means, right Pearl? She drew the sword so she’s worthy of being a Crystal Gem!”

“I- er, I mean…” Pearl was at a loss of words. She couldn’t believe that Peridot was able to wield Rose’s sword like that… Only the truly worthy should be able to. “Perhaps… spending so much time at rest, the sword’s enchantments have weakened…”

“Not according to the runes,” Peridot retorted, running her hand along the blade and leaving a trail of glowing runes in her wake. The runes glowed for a moment, before blinking out of sight.

“Then… another test is in order,” Pearl said. “Someone else needs to try and draw the sword.”

“Ah, I don’t know if it’s important…” Connie spoke up. “But Steven was able to draw the sword when we were in the cave.”

“That’s not surprising,” Pearl said, taking the resheathed sword from Peridot. “If anyone is worthy of Rose’s ideals, it’s her own son.” She held the scabbard in one hand and wrapped her fingers on her other around the sword’s hilt. “What we need is someone who is… unlikely to be able to draw the sword as a way to truly test the enchantment's-”

Pearl idly pulled at the sword… only to have it resist. She pulled again, this time harder, but still the sword refused to budge. She gave one final pull, one with all her might!... Only for it to again, remain firmly in its scabbard.

“Well…” Peridot said after several moments of heavy silence. “Its seems we’ve found someone.”

* * *

 

Pearl paced in front of the wooden table. The sword was laid on it, no longer sheathed, and Peridot pored over it, her hands carefully moving over the the runes on the blade as she silently mouthed them as she went along. Steven and Connie for their part stood across the table from Peridot, their eyes turning Peridot, to the sword, to Pearl and back again as they wordlessly watched the process.

“Well?” Pearl asked sharply, pausing in her stride.

Peridot kept examining the the blade’s runes for a moment before raising her gaze and replying simply, “My original prognosis remains. The enchantments on this sword are still operating as they should.” Her eyes flicked back down to the sword. “It’s remarkable really. For a weapon that was used during the Incursion, the fact that its runes are still in perfect order… Hm. You said Rose Quartz enchanted this, correct?”

Pearl nodded. “Yes, she did.”

Looking back down at the sword, Peridot said, “On a technical level, the enchantments are… well, revolutionary. Just by looking at them I can tell that the amount of theory and crafting that went into them is nothing short of magnificent…”

“Of course,” Pearl said matter-of-factly. “Rose was a master at-”

“For the time, of course.”

Pearl could feel her mouth twitch as she spoke, “W-what?”

“The enchantments,” Peridot clarified. “While they’re very impressive for the time, by today’s standards, they’re fairly nominal. Like I said, a sword forged of adamantine would have similar properties.”

“An adamantine sword would still be turned away by an adamantine breastplate or shield,” Pearl replied tersely. “ _Nothing_ can stop Rose’s sword.”

“Well, what about my shield?” Steven asked. “Didn’t you say that, once mastered, nothing can break through my shield? Or my bubble?”

Pearl didn’t respond, only looking at Steven before looking back at Peridot, who had a smug smirk on her face.

“It seems you might be dealing in absolutes too much,” Peridot said.

“Listen, you…” Pearl muttered. “I don’t-” Without even really realizing it, Pearl had grabbed the sword’s hilt and tried to lift it, only to grunt with the effort, as the sword refused to yield. Pearl shot the sword an accusatory look. “Why won’t you let me lift you!?”

“The answer is fairly obvious to me,” Peridot said simply. “The enchantment doesn’t believe you’re worthy.”

“That’s impossible,” Pearl replied flatly as she tried to lift the sword off the table.

“Why’s that?” Connie asked timidly.

“Well, simply put, I was one of Rose’s elite.” Pearl let go of the sword as she began counting off her fingers. “Myself, Garnet, Agate, Obsidian, Bismuth, Biggs, and Spinel… We were Rose’s chosen knights.”

“So you’ve been knighted?” Connie asked.

“Yes, Rose knighted all of us,” Pearl answered, not noticing the tone of excitement in Connie’s voice. She turned.. “Sheath the sword, Peridot.”

“Okay… Why?” Peridot said as she followed Pearl’s instruction.

“Because, there’s clearly something you’re missing. I’m going to go seek a second opinion.”

“A second-” Peridot sputtered. “Why-... Where are you going to find another enchanter?”

“Rose had a few connections with the Fae. I’m sure to find someone,” Pearl said, pulling the sword across the table. However, Peridot quickly reached out for it and tried to pull back her way, though she was unable to match Pearl’s strength.

“Wait! You shouldn’t do that!” Peridot cried out.

“And why not?” Pearl asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Because it would be a waste of time.”

“A waste of time?!” Pearl gasped.

“Of course. As I said, the enchantments are fairly lackluster by today’s standards,” Peridot explained. “You’d be better off letting me disenchant it and start from scratch.”

“What!? Never!” Pearl shouted, pulling the sword completely from Peridot’s grasp.

“Wait, why not, Pearl?” Steven asked, Pearl having completely forgotten he and Connie were still here. “Wouldn’t disenchanting it also solve the worthiness enchantment problem?”

“No, Steven,” Pearl sighed. “It’s not that simple. Disenchanting an item gives you its magical essence in a physical form, but doing so destroys the enchanted item.”

“It does? There’s no way to disenchant an item without destroying it?” Connie asked.

“No. Enchanting involves binding the magical enchantment directly onto the item. To remove it means destroying what it’s bound to,” Peridot answered.

“Then… why would anyone ever disenchant something?”

“To get the magical essence,” Peridot said. “Pure essence is rare and a very potent Source. On Homeplane, items were often enchanted and then disenchanted just to acquire as much essence as possible.”

“Which is why you’re not disenchanting Rose’s sword,” Pearl shot harshly at Peridot.

“But why not?” Peridot returned. “If we could just acquire an adamantine sword, or even a simple steel one, I could create a much better and more potent set of enchantments. I wouldn’t even need the essence.” Peridot eyed the sword in Pearl’s arms closely. “Though, I could still think of a few uses for it, regardless…”

“No! Absolutely not!”

“Pearl, see reason-”

“It’s not up for debate!” Pearl said harshly,

“But… it’s a sword you can’t use,” Connie meekly spoke up. Pearl turned her heavy gaze over to the young girl, who immediately began to deflate under it. “I mean… you’re the only swordfighter in the Band…”

“It’s not about being just a sword, Connie,” Pearl said. “This is… one of Rose’s last relics… One of the last connections that is left of her in this plane… I…” Her voice caught in her throat as tried to continue. “I can’t lose her again…”

Pearl opened her eyes, unaware that she had ever closed them. She looked at the three of them, all three sets of eyes gazed back at her.

“Pearl… Are… are you alright?” Steven asked, his voice tinged with concern.

“I, uh… yes, I’m…” Pearl looked down at her feet, her face blushing with embarrassment. “I… just need a moment…” Without another word, Pearl began walking away. Her feet carried her several paces when she began to hear faint whispers behind her.

“Is.. she alright?”

“Um… I don’t know…”

“Was it something I said? I… I didn’t want to upset anyone…”

“No… I mean, not really… Pearl can be little… sensitive when Mom gets brought up…”

“Hmm… An odd reaction… Though… Rose Quartz was her master, correct?”

Pearl let out a sharp breath, hushing the whispers behind her. She could feel their eyes on her back, like small spears that dug into her. She heard one of them say her name, but what they wanted, she didn't know. Before any them could say anything more, she began to run. As the cool wind rushed by her, she heard her name called again, this time more distant and far away. But she didn’t want to talk yet, couldn’t talk yet.

She just ran, Rose’s sword still clasped tightly in her arms and the first tear beginning to crawl down her cheek.

* * *

 

Pearl wasn’t sure how long she had ran. It couldn’t have been to long as the sun was still in the same position it had been when she left. But on the other hand, Pearl no longer saw the barn behind her. She was alone now in an empty, grassy field stretching around her in all directions.

Her only company now was the sword. The one she still hung onto so tightly, but wanted to be able to let go of. Even though the sword had just been rediscovered, Pearl felt like she had been holding it for much longer.

Ever since that night…

“Why…” Pearl gasped, under her her breath. “I want to let go… I do, but…”

_I can’t… I… just can’t… Without you… I’m…_

Pearl drew a ragged breath as she pulled the sword away from her chest. She looked deeply at it, the simply scabbard inlaid with only a single image of a blooming rose. She ran her hand over it, her lips quivering with an unasked question.

_Is that why you don’t think I’m worthy, Rose? Because… I’m just a-_

“Pearl!”

Pearl heard her name called and turned, seeing both Connie and Steven running towards her. They caught up with her quickly, Connie breathing heavily from the extended run, but otherwise looked like she was unaffected by the effort. Steven didn’t look tired or worn out by it at all, however.

 _His gem powers are starting to manifest in more subtle ways…_ Pearl noted automatically.

For a while, no one said anything. They looked at each other, the questions obvious, but the effort to ask was beyond them.

Finally, after no one spoke my the wind, Steven asked, “Pearl… Are you alright?” His voice was overflowing with fear and worry, a combination that broke Pearl’s heart all over again.

“Yes, I’m…” Pearl stopped, knowing her lie wouldn’t convince anyone. “I…” She looked away, her vision already blurring due to a new rush of tears. “I still miss her. Even after thirteen years, it still feels like I just lost her…” She tightened her grip on the sword, as if afraid that she would lose that as well.

“You’re.. talking about Rose Quartz… Steven’s mom, right?” Connie asked.

“Yes…”

“She meant a lot to you, didn’t she?”

Pearl laughed bitterly. She looked back at the two of them, her face stained with tears. “Rose meant everything to me.” She looked back down at the sword held in her arms. “She was the one who showed me what living truly was, that love could be found anywhere and that it was always worth fighting for.”

“Rose… sounds like an incredible person,” Connie said simply.

“The most incredible that you would ever hope to see.”

“Well, then… Why don’t you tell us about her,” Steven said as he sat down in the grass, Connie promptly sitting next to him.

“Steven, you’ve heard my stories before…”

“But Connie hasn’t. I bet she want’s to hear about Mom.” He looked at over at Connie, who eagerly nodded her head.

“Yes! I’d love to hear about her and your old adventures… If it’s not… too much trouble…”

A small, but fond smile unfolded over Pearl’s lips. “Well, I surely can’t say no to an invitation like that, can I?” She loosened her hold on Rose’s sword, before finally setting it down in front of them and… she began to speak.

She spoke of Rose, of her kind and gentle nature, how she always saw the best in those around her.

She spoke of what it was like to fight at her side, to see entire armies part when they saw them coming.

She spoke of the friends they had, the brave Gems who forsook Homeplane and followed Rose’s lead in protecting Earth and all the life within it.

She spoke of what it was like to simply be around her, to know that there was always someone who cared about you, no matter what.

She spoke of Rose Quartz, a monumental figure in the history of two planes. One who, when she felt it was time and after spending so much of her existence as a protector of life, let her last action be to bring a new life into the world.

As she finished, she could see the wide-eyed looks from both Steven and Connie as they took in a processed the tales that Pearl had just told them.

“Wow…” Connie whispered. “Rose sounds… so amazing…”

“She was. And so much more,” Pearl softly spoke. “Back then, I was the first one she picked to be knighted.” Pearl pointed her gaze towards the sky, the memory of the event still feeling fresh in her mind. “Out of all the Gems that had heeded her call, I was the first one she chose to become one of her knights… Me, the runaway pearl…” She looked back down at Rose’s sword, which was now spread between Steven and Connie’s laps. “So why can’t I draw her sword? Why am I not… worthy?”

Silence held for a moment before Steven gently spoke, “Well… I think you’re worthy.” Pearl looked at Steven, his face filled with a dogged determination. “You’re kind, and generous, and loving… You always help me or Amethyst or Garnet whenever we need you…”

Steven trailed off, prompting Connie to continue the statement, “And I’ve seen you in battle!” she said excitedly. “The way you’re able to weave around you opponent and dodge and parry their attacks, all while waiting for the perfect time to strike… You’re the coolest knight I’ve ever known.”

A small smile bloomed on Pearl’s lips, “And you’ve known many knights, Connie?”

Redness crept across Connie’s face. “N-no, not really. But I’ve read a lot of stories about knights and heroic adventures and… stuff like that… But you’re still the most incredible.” Connie rose to her feet, taking Rose’s sword with her. “You’ve been protecting Earth for tens of thousands of cycles. You’ve never stopped or wavered in that mission, even after all this time. That’s just… incredible…” Connie looked down at the sword in her arms. “I wish my life was like yours…” she said softly. “Full of adventure and romance and… saving the whole plane… But instead all I have is a small village and a stump I cut wood on.”

Steven then rose to his feet and began to talk to Connie, but Pearl wasn’t really paying attention at the point. Connie words were ringing in her ear.

_“I wish my life was like yours.”_

A thought began to snake its way through Pearl’s mind, a thought that kept whispering the same instruction over and over. ‘Let her try.’

“Connie,” Pearl said suddenly, interrupting the conversation she was having with Steven. “Would you…” Her eyes darted over to the sword that Connie now had resting on the ground. “Would you try and draw Rose’s sword?”

Connie eyes grew wide with surprise. “Me? Try and draw the sword? I…”

“It’s okay, Connie,” Pearl said gently. “I believe you can.”

“Yeah, me too, Connie!” Steven added with an enthusiastic smile.

Connie looked from him, to Pearl, and then to the sword, before grimacing and saying, “Alright… But if I can’t…”

“No, there’s nothing beyond your grasp,” Pearl replied firmly, folding her arms across her chest. “You just have to begin.”

Connie held Pearl’s gaze for a moment, before looking back down at the sword, her hand already tightly wrapped around the hilt, and nodded determinedly. “Right. Nothing.” She tightened her grip and pulled. For a second, the sword seemed to resist, but in the next it easily slid out of the scabbard.

“Connie…” Steven gasped, unable to summon anymore words to express his amazement. Connie herself merely stared at the sword in wonder, as if she were trying to decide if this was all just a dream.

Pearl stepped towards Connie, laying a hand on her shoulder. “You see? Nothing is beyond your grasp, Connie.”

“I… Uh…” Once she realized Pearl was right next to her, Connie quickly sheathed the sword and handed it back to Pearl. “Um, thanks, Pearl.” She laughed nervously. “I guess maybe there is something more to me.”

“Of course,” Pearl said plainly. “I… should have seen that sooner, to be honest.”

“What do you mean?” Connie asked.

“Well…” Pearl tapped her lower lip, trying to best think of how to say this. “As I said, I am a knight. But… I’m a knight without an apprentice. Someone to teach and pass my skills down to.” She paused. “You said you wish your life was more like mine. Do you mean that?”

Connie’s mouth moved silently for several seconds before she squeaked out, “I… Yes, more then anything.”

“Then I, Pearl: Knight of the Crystal Gem, formally offer you the position as my apprentice and squire. Do you accept?”

Connie stood silently, looking over at Steven who seemed just as unsure about what to say as she did. Finally she asked, “What does being your apprentice mean? I mean… I don’t think my parents would let me live at the temple…”

Pearl chuckled. “Yes, I doubt so, as well… I’ll admit, your apprenticeship won’t be like what it would be during the Rebellion. And besides… I would not want to take you away from your life. Instead, several times during the week we would meet and I would begin training you.”

“Training… in what way?” Connie asked, eyeing the sword in Pearl’s hands.

“Swordplay, chivalry, the tenants of the Crystal Gems.”

“So I could start going on adventures with Steven?” Connie asked, a large grin beginning to bloom on both her’s and Steven’s face.

Pearl smirked knowingly. “I wouldn’t see why not. Unless Steven had some problem with it…”

Steven quickly shook his head. “No, I… It’d be great if Connie could start coming on some adventures with us.”

“Hm. Well there’s your answer, Connie,” Pearl said. “What do you think?”

“I… I… Yes! I accept.”

“Then welcome, Connie. You’ve taken your first step into a much larger world.”

“Connie! I- This is so cool! You’re going to be trained!” Steven threw his arms around Connie, wrapping her in a tight, congratulatory hug. “And then we can go on adventures together!”

“Yeah, I know, Steven,” Connie huffed. “Can you loosen up a little? I can’t breath…”

Steven let go and awkwardly apologized. The two of them continued to talk to one another, Steven listing all the sights and places he was going to show her once she had some training.

They were certainly an enthusiastic pair.

Pearl turned from them, the smile she had been wearing slowly fading as she looked at the sword that was once again cradled in her arms.

“I’ll prove the worth you saw in me, Rose…” she whispered. “I’ll train Connie as my squire, just like you did with me. And then…” She pulled at the sword fruitlessly. “And then… I’ll be worthy. I promise…”

She turned and began to walk back over to rejoin Steven and Connie, the sword held firmly in her hand, as she began to idly wonder what weapon would best be suited for Connie…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the bit of a long pause without any writing. First I had a really stressful and packed week, and then last week... happened and all that kind of drained my writing inspiration and will for a while. But I'm back now and writing as normal, so expect updates all around, as usual.
> 
> Thank you for reading and, as always, constructive feedback is welcomed.


End file.
